


stay the night

by roosebolton



Category: Andrew Hozier-Byrne (Musician)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, M/M, No Sex, RPF, Soft lads, Tea, Tenderness, There Is Only One Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 11:34:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22849483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roosebolton/pseuds/roosebolton
Summary: They've been off tour for a while. Alex has been having trouble sleeping, and he decides to visit Andrew out in the country.
Relationships: Andrew Hozier-Byrne/Alex Ryan (Hozier)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 27





	stay the night

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is not in the same timeline as any of my other works.

There was a knock at the door, faintly at first, then louder. Andrew almost didn't hear it at first, he was so lost in his own head, but when he listened closer, it happened again.

He wasn't expecting any visitors, so when he got closer to the door, he yelled "Who is it?" but there was no response until he got closer to the door.

A cleared throat, and then, "It's me, man."

"...Alex?" Andrew opened the door, and he was standing there, looking tired as hell, bleary-eyed, like he was going to pass out any minute. "What's wrong?"

"Can I come in?"

"'Course you can, you don't need to ask, fuck's sake..." He stood out of the way long enough for Alex to walk past before shutting the door. He walked through Andrew’s living room into the kitchen, and Andrew followed him in.

"Tea?" he asked, before adding, "Please?"

"I'll put the kettle on," Andrew said, and then did so, pulling down two mugs for the both of them, and two tea bags, putting one in each mug. "Sugar?"

"Just a pinch," he said, and Andrew put a pinch in his own mug, too.

"It'll take a minute or two. You okay? You look like shit."

"Feel like shit too."

"You sick or somethin'?"

"Nah, don't think so. Just haven't been able to sleep much, man. Not since we got back."

The tea kettle clicked off, and Andrew poured the hot water into both mugs, handing Alex his.

"Thanks, man." He stirred it a little with the wrong end of a spoon that had been sitting on the table, then took a sip, nodding afterward. "Fuck, didn't realise how good something hot would taste."

"It has been a little colder out the past couple days."

"Mmhmm," Alex agreed, taking another sip, closing his eyes and savouring the warmth before swallowing.

"Why you having trouble sleeping? You told me it'd be hard for you to sleep out here without the city noises."

"Yeah, I know. I don't know. Maybe I figured it couldn't hurt to try it anyway, out here, since I can't sleep there." He took a sip. "Or maybe I was lying because I was scared to come out here. You know me."

Andrew took a deep breath. "Why would you be scared to come out here? We've spent loads of time alone together."

"Yeah, but, like, that was real temporary. A day or two in a hotel, a few hours here and there. This is more, like..." He stared into his tea before taking another sip. "Permanent. I guess. Domestic. Like it seems more real."

"You... don't have to stay, ehm, I mean, if it makes you uncomfortable. I mean, you just stopped by for a visit, right?"

Alex considered his tea before finishing it. "Maybe I need to stay. Even if just... for a little while. Just... to see what it feels like."

“You know you’re more than welcome to, man. You’ve always been. Always will be welcome, too, anywhere I am, if you need it.”

_If you need me._

“Good man.” Alex pushed his mug toward Andy to indicate he was finished. Andrew pushed it back toward him.

“Nah, if you’re staying, you can rinse it out yourself.” He grinned. “I only wash dishes for _guests_.”

Alex chuckled, shaking his head, but took his mug to the sink, clapping Andrew on the back on his way. He glanced around for a moment. “Where’s the bin? For the tea bag?”

“Under the sink.”

“Ah. Right.” He tossed the tea bag in the bin, giving the mug a quick rinse before squirting a little too much soap in it, swishing it around with his hand until it bubbled up and then rinsing it again. He gingerly set the mug in the dish strainer atop several other dishes still drying there. “Any other dreary domestic tasks you need help with?”

“Sure. Go chop the wood for the fireplace.”

“...Chop the wood? Do you even have a--”

“God, I’m joking. Take your shoes off, man. Get comfortable, if you’re really staying.”

“Good, I’ve never chopped wood in my fuckin’ _life_ and I wasn’t about to start now.” He reached down to untie his shoes, pulling them off and setting them on the floor next to his chair.

“I do have a fireplace, though.” Andrew jerked a thumb toward the living room. “In there. But I buy the wood already cut.” He grinned.

“You wanna start a fire?”

“Sure, if you want. Good time of year for it. I don’t light it very often, because, you know, this place _does_ have heating. Not that I usually need it.”

Alex ran his tongue between his upper teeth and his lip. “Show me around first, maybe?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure. Absolutely. C’mon.” Andrew gestured with a hand. “This is the kitchen.”

“Really? Had no idea. Never seen one before.”

“Fucker. C’mon.” Andrew stood up, tilting his head for Alex to follow him. “This way.”

Alex followed him in his stocking feet down a short hallway before turning left. “Living room. Fireplace is over there, behind the screen. I write in here, mostly, it’s the biggest room.”

“Mmhmm. Looks cosy. Small couch, though.”

“It’s a loveseat, I guess, yeah? I mean, I’m generally the only person who sits on it, so, you know.”

“Can’t sleep on it, though, can you? Not with those long legs.”

“No, but I have a bed for that. Besides, you wouldn’t be able to sleep on it either.”

“I can sleep anywhere I put my mind to, _actually_. Probably not, you know, the long way, though.”

“... This way.” Andrew beckoned, and Alex followed. “Bedroom here on the right, but I don’t use it for a bedroom. Keep my equipment in there, and some other storage.”

Alex peeked in the room, though it was dark aside from the hall light creeping in. “So... guitars and boxes you haven’t unpacked. Got it.”

“Basically. Next one is my actual bedroom.” He leaned in, turning the light on. “Sorry if it’s a mess. I haven’t done laundry in a few days. Didn’t expect anyone to show up out of the blue.”

Alex glanced around. The bed had been slept in, the sheets rumpled and the blankets pushed off to one side. There were nightstands on either side of the bed, one of which had a lamp and nothing else, the other which held a half-empty glass of water and a box of tissues, with a phone charger cord dangling off the side, plugged into somewhere Alex couldn’t see. There was a short, wide dresser in the corner with clean, folded clothes piled on top, partly obscuring the attached mirror. A few boxes were shoved hastily in the closet, and the walls were bare.

“And _how_ long have you been living here?” said Alex, raising an eyebrow.

“...A while. I mean, we’ve been on tour for so long I haven’t exactly had time to unpack all of this. Just the essentials.”

“Would you like some help?”

“If you’re offering, sure. Maybe not tonight, though. By the way, the door at the end of the hallway is the toilet. There’s a shower, but no bathtub. There’s a little room on the side of the kitchen, like a little patio, where there’s a washer and dryer, that’s what the door next to the sink is for. Dunno if you noticed it.”

“I didn’t. I have another question.”

“Yeah?”

“Where am _I_ sleeping?”

"I... guess I didn't really think about that."

"Like I said, I can sleep just about anywhere. Give me enough blankets and I'm good, even on that pocket-sized couch."

Andrew frowned. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable, though. I mean, wasn't that the whole point? That you haven't been sleeping well?"

Alex paused for a moment. "I mean... yeah."

"Clearly that won't do, then." Andrew looked anywhere but at Alex. "Could sleep in my bed. Big enough for two. Or I can take the couch, or sleep on the floor, or..."

"Thought you'd never ask." Alex grinned. "Sleep on the floor? _Really?_ As if I'd _ever_ make you sleep on the floor, Andy, especially in your own house, c'mon." He shoved Andrew playfully. "But you better have enough pillows."

Andrew grinned back. “I just didn’t want to assume. Thought you might want some time away from me after all those months together.” 

“If I wanted time away from you, I wouldn’t have come _here,_ fucker.”

“... Can’t argue with that logic, I guess. You can take the pillows off the couch, if you want. I can probably scrounge up a few extra blankets, too, if we need them. If you need them, I mean.”

“You find those, I’ll get the pillows.” Alex left the room to grab the pillows from the couch, and when he came back to the bedroom, Andrew was digging through the boxes in his closet, none of which appeared to be sorted or labelled. All but one box had been opened and set aside, but when he opened the last box, he pulled out two large, soft, unmatched blankets, one dark blue, one red buffalo plaid.

“Hope this is enough, because I don’t have any others.” Andrew gave one of the blankets a sniff. “Little musty from being in the box, though. Sorry.”

“It’s not _that_ cold. I think we’ll be fine, Andy.”

“Just making sure.”

“Should I, uh… I mean, I didn’t bring pyjamas or anything with me. Guess I wasn’t really prepared for you to ask me to stay.”

“... Do you even _wear_ pyjamas? I’ve never seen you wear pyjamas, I don’t think.”

“Sometimes. When it’s cold. Or, you know, when I’m relaxing outside of bed, or whatever.”

“I have extra bottoms but I don’t think they’ll fit you. I usually only wear them when I get up in the morning to use the toilet and make tea and whatever. It always feels colder in the morning, for some reason.”

“That’s because you’ve been under the covers so long. Your body’s gotten used to the heat.” Alex hooked a thumb into his waistband. “You’re stuck seeing me in my boxers, I guess.”

“You say that like we haven’t seen each other in various states of undress, like, a billion times. And the rest of them, too.”

“Yeah, but…” Alex trailed off, a thoughtful look on his face. “I dunno. It feels different now that I’m here in your house. When we’re on the bus, it’s necessary, everyone’s in cramped, small quarters, there’s no room to breathe, let alone pay attention to what other people are wearing. Everyone ignores each other.”

“We’ve shared hotel rooms, too, though. Not just on the bus.”

“Hotels are hotels. I can’t explain it, man, it just feels _different_ is all I’m saying.”

Andrew unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt before pausing. “I… think you’re right. Something about it does feel different. I think it’s that… I mean, there’s no, ehm, urgency. We don’t have to leave in the morning, we’re not headed anywhere, there’s nothing pushing us ahead. Nothing forcing us to ignore everything but what we’re doing and where we’re going next.”

Alex looked up at Andrew, their eyes meeting, and nodded quietly. He absentmindedly licked his lips. “Yeah. That sounds about right.” 

“And, ehm…” Andrew unbuttoned the rest of his shirt, revealing a light grey t-shirt underneath, “when we’re on tour, we’re all thrown in together and there’s no avoiding it. But… well, you chose to come here. Because you wanted to.” He rubbed one of his palms with the thumb of his other hand. “So that means something. I guess. Maybe.”

Alex unbuckled his belt and unfastened his trousers, pushing them down all in one go, sitting on the bed to pull them the rest of the way off. He loosely folded them and dropped them on the floor near the end of the bed. “Yeah. I guess. Maybe.” He scooted back farther onto the bed, taking the side with the emptier nightstand. 

Tugging his outer shirt off the rest of the way, he tossed it onto one of the boxes that had been in the closet, facing away from Alex long enough to unbutton his trousers, gingerly stepping out of them and putting them on top of his shirt. “You ready for sleep, then?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder at Alex.

“Yeah. I mean, that’s why I climbed into bed.” Alex stretched his arms, tucking both his hands behind his head.

“Turn that lamp on, then, so I can turn off the overhead.”

Alex reached a hand out, fumbling under the lampshade until he found the switch, twisting it until the light clicked on, returning his hand back to its spot beneath his head. Andrew flipped the light switch, not bothering to close the door. “Dunno how much time you’ve spent in the country, but it gets dark out here. Actual dark, I mean, not like the city where there’s a little light always coming in the curtains from streetlamps and cars. It’ll be near pitch black once you shut the lamp off.”

“Noted. If you hear a loud noise in the night, then, it’ll be me trying to find the toilet.”

“There’s a night light in the hallway. It’ll be enough, once your eyes get used to the dark. You’ll see.”

“Gotcha.”

Andrew took a single, deep, nervous breath before climbing in bed next to Alex, pulling the blankets up over them both. “Hit the light, then.”

Alex yawned, leaning over to switch the lamp off, leaving them in total darkness.

“Night, Andy.”

“Night.”

They lay there in the dark, quietly, with only the sounds of their breathing, for a little while, before there was a rustling of movement on Alex’s side of the bed, followed by a short sigh.

“You okay?”

“Trying to get comfortable.”

“Mm.” Andrew rolled toward Alex, lightly reaching a hand out to see which direction he was facing, since he’d been laying on his back when the lights went out. “Anything I can do?”

“Nah, just gotta toss and turn ‘til I fall asleep, I’m afraid. Always been that way.”

“Me too, usually.”

“I noticed. You know, on the bus.”

“Mmhmm.” Returning to his previous position, facing upward, Andrew focused on his breathing, trying not to think too hard, staring into the empty dark.

Another few moments passed in silence, then, more rustling from Alex’s side of the bed.

“Hey, Andy, uh…”

“Mm?”

“You mind if I, uh…” 

Andrew felt a hand lightly cross his chest, and instinctively moved his arm to let Alex in closer. “‘Course not, man.”

“Mmm, good. Okay.” Alex scooted as close as possible to Andrew in the dark, resting his head on Andrew’s shoulder, and Andrew curled his arm around him. Alex yawned.

Andrew lay there, listening to Alex breathe for a little while, before saying goodnight to him a second time. 

Alex, though, didn’t respond. Comfortable in Andrew’s arms, he was already asleep, and that was enough to let Andrew drift off to sleep, too.


End file.
